Our History

Reference and Reading Room Circa 1970

On October 10, 1864, a small group of Torrington men
gathered together with the intention of doing something worthwhile for the
community. The men included Rev. D.P. Sanford, Rev. W.S. Adamson, Rev. J.
Vinton, Lauren Wetmore, Charles F. Brooker, and J.F.Calhoun. During this
meeting, the men formed two groups. One group was to present an organized
plan about forming a library (which included Sanford, Adamson and Vinton). The
second group (comprised of Wetmore, Brooker, and Calhoun) was to solicit
subscriptions for library membership.
On October 27th of the same year, the men formed
the Wolcottville Library Association with only $700.00 to fund the
organization. Library dues for all residents at the time were $2.00 per
year. There were approximately 2,200 people in Wolcottville.
The first Board of Trustees president was Gideon Welch and
the first librarian was Alexa Eggleston.

In 1865 the Wolcottville Library Association found its first
home in the Granite Block area of downtown.
The rooms once belonged to Attorney Walter Holcomb. Mrs. Frank
Holley recalled in a 1939 newspaper article,

“I remember in the early seventies (1870s) that the library was located in the
Granite block. Up a long broad pair of stairs in center front of the
block across a narrow dark hallway into a large reading room, rather plain (not
much furniture in those days), newspapers fastened against the wall and through
a door on the west side of this reading room we came into another room long and
narrow and behold the library proper with Mrs. Woodriff behind the desk or long
counter” (Register Citizen Newspaper, October 10, 1939).

The first books were donated by a group of women who met to read and discuss current
literature of the time. They gifted the books that they had previously
read to the new library. The first newspaper the library subscribed to
was the New York Tribune.

Many of the first Library donors of the day were thankful citizens. Some
included the local baseball club, who gave $3.00 and the Young Ladies’ Musical
Association, who donated $40.00. The library also had the support of
budding businesses, including the Coe Brass Manufacturing Company, who donated
$100.00 and the Excelsior Needle Company, who donated $50.00. Both were
considered generous donations, given that the companies were also just becoming
established.

In 1876, the library came under financial distress. Money was owed to Mr.
Gideon Welch, who had been donating money for supplies and everyday expenses,
in the sum of $19.63, so the Trustees took up a collection. The following
members made up the difference: Mr. Wetmore, James Alldis (the president of the
Association at the time), O.R. Fyler, C.F. Brooker, the Brooks Brothers and Mr.
Elisha Turner, who added to his $5.00 exactly 62 cents so that the library
could start the New Year without a balance. As of January 1880 the library was
without debt for the first time in its history.

In June of 1880, the Library again moved locations to the old wooden
Congregational Church (the old Wetmore School), purchased by Lauren
Wetmore. Mr. Wetmore offered the lower front floor to the library at the
same rent they had paid in the previous location if they would reduce the
membership fee to $1.00 in order to increase public interest. In that one
year, membership more than doubled.

A second floor was constructed to the building, able to house four tenement
apartments, with the library below. The building would later become known
as the old Wetmore School. It was named such because Lauren Wetmore
bought the building from the church in 1880. He was the library’s
landlord for many years, with provision. The first provision was that the
library pay no rent and the second was that the library collect the rent money
from the tenements above and keep the funds for library use.

In 1881 the Wolcottville Library officially changed its name to the Torrington
Library. More secure forms of funding became necessary to maintain
the library. At the Annual Meeting that year, Dr. St. John made this
proposition, “I propose to be one of the eight to raise $200 for the library”
(Register Citizen Newspaper, October 11, 1939). The meeting was
adjourned, but the proposal was not forgotten. Four individuals were
willing to raise the funds needed and another gave $100 to make up the
difference, amounting in $1600, which was used to purchase books.

At the end of the Annual Meeting in 1885, Lauren Wetmore said, “I have no fears
for the future. I would say make use of this hall and the fixtures as it
is and the greater use you can make of it the better I shall be pleased.
This institution can go on with increased vigor. One man cannot do
everything but united we can do everything necessary to insure success” (Register
Citizen Newspaper, October 11, 1939).

A New Library on Litchfield
Street

The library remained in Wetmore’s building until 1901. During that time, many
individuals helped the library stay in good financial standing. Lyman W. Coe
helped in monetary emergencies; Elisha Turner paid to put in sidewalks and
other repairs; and the Torrington Electric Light Company installed fixtures and
sent electricity free of charge. Wetmore also donated $20,000 in cash and
property to ensure the building’s success, and to create a fund to reduce
membership fees.

Sadly, Mr. Wetmore died February 2, 1890 at the age of 89. Mr. Wetmore made
provisions in his will that his property be transferred to the association upon
his death. After the death of his wife in 1898, four men (Isaac W.
Brooks, Orsamus R. Fyler, Gideon H. Welch, and James Alldis) received in trust
for the library $25,000 from Mr. Wetmore’s estate.

In May of 1899, the old association called a meeting and transferred all of
their property to the Torrington Library, now a corporate body after applying
for a legislative charter, dissolving the old association.

The new library body was prospering, much to the active involvement of the
Trustees, especially Mr. Elisha Turner, who had become President of the Board
of Trustees in 1884 and served as such until his death in 1900.

During Turner’s presidency, construction began on what is now the current home
of the library on Litchfield Street (and now Daycoeton Place). The vast, marble
structure was paid for entirely by Turner’s gift of $100,000. The land was also gifted to the library and
was the former location of Lyman W. Coe’s carriage house.
Earnest Greene, an architect from New York, was hired to draw the plans and H.
Wales Lines Co., of Meriden and the Hotchkiss Brothers Co., of Torrington were
the contractors.

Sadly, Turner did not live to see the building finished. Elisha Turner
died September 14, 1900. The new building was dedicated on September 11, 1901, almost
one year to the day after Mr. Turner’s death. Upon his death, Mr. Isaac
W. Brooks became President of the Board.

At the dedication ceremony, Yale professor Bernadotte Perrin said, “A Library
in a community is a fountain of ennobling influence. A memorial such as
the one left by Mr. Turner will live forever and this community will have long
memory for Lauren Wetmore and Elisha Turner.”

During the dedication, Judge Gideon H. Welch spoke of Lyman W. Coe who along with
Turner and Wetmore played an key role in financially supporting the
library. Welch also spoke of all past
benefactors, saying, “I would that I could allude to them all by name and speak
of their noble liberality. Especially would I be gratified to speak of
the royal generosity to this association of the late Lyman W. Coe whose
benefactions during his lifetime were so widely and wisely distributed”
(Register Citizen Newspaper, October 12, 1939).
With Turner and Wetmore gone, two strong advocates for the
library were no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the
organization. However, both left funds to ensure the library’s financial
stability. When invested, Welch estimated that the funds would draw and
income of around $2,500 per year; a great financial assistance to the young
organization.

Mr. Welch succeeded Mr. Isaac W. Brook as President of the Library and held the
position for a second time until his death in 1927 at the age of 83.
Judge Welch continued the legacy left by previous trustees, and left a bequest
to the library.

In 1926, Ella Coe and her sister, Adelaide Eliza Coe Godfrey, both daughters of
Lyman W. Coe, donated the money to build the children's room. They
purchased the land from Mr. Sickmund's and so began construction. In
1928, Ella Coe also donated the money to redecorate and acquire new display
cases for the Turner Museum. Along with it, she donated a good majority
of her family glassware to the library collection.

In 1935, the L.W. Steele Women’s Relief Corps celebrated the libraries 50th
anniversary by donating the bronze relief of Abraham Lincoln with the
Gettysburg address below the bust. It was originally placed in the
Children’s Room and can be seem near the Daycoeton Place entrance before the
stairs to the second floor balcony.

Philanthropy did not end there. The Brooks brothers, of the Brooks Brother’s
Bank and Trust, also took an invested interest in the Library, serving on the
Board of Trustees since 1864. John N. Brooks took the role of
President in 1936 after the death of Edward H. Hotchkiss, and his son John H.
Brooks served as President until the time of his death in 1998.

In 1970, substantial renovations were made to the library building to provide
stack space, air conditioning and modern lighting.

After the death of John H. Brooks in 1998, Charles W. Roraback assumed the
presidency and currently holds the position. In 1998 Susan R. Carroll
became the first female Trustee in the history of the Library.

In May of 2008, the Turner Museum reopened as the new Program Room, hosting
approximately 100 events a year in the space, giving patrons the opportunity to
rediscover the artifacts housed in the museum.

In February of 2009, the marble tiled floor (which was carpeted over in 1970)
was uncovered to reveal the beautifully colored mosaic pattern throughout the
reading and reference rooms.

Benefactors have been generous over the years and have always seemed to remember
the library, a place many called a refuge and second home.

Today
The Torrington Library is a doorway to learning and a
life-long partner to the community, providing free access to resources
including a circulating collection of both print and non-print adult,
young adult, and juvenile materials. With new materials added
daily, the Library serves a community of over 36,000 with a dedicated
staff of 16 and countless volunteers.
Throughout its history, the library has
developed into a learning center for the people of Torrington and Litchfield
County. The library currently provides its patrons with a substantial print
collection, access to computers, free Wi-Fi, DVDs, audio books and musical CDs,
various electronic databases, a dynamic and information website, free and
education programming for children, teens and adults, and most recently, an
increasing number of eBooks and audio books that patrons can download from the
comfort of home.

The library has truly evolved into a destination for literature, learning,
arts, culture, history, technology and so much more.

The Torrington Library will celebrate its 150th Anniversary on October 10,
2014.